No More Violence for Ethiopian WomenThe Bright Future program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia helps low-income women and girls become assimilated into society by providing academic education, life skills, and reproductive education. Sign the petition to support the program and tell the UN that it's a monumental step in preventing violence against women.

Children Should Be Students, Not SoldiersChildren who are forced to fight in military operations lose the opportunity to have a childhood. When children lose the opportunity to grow, learn, and pursue their dreams, their entire nation suffers as a result. Show your support for the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign, and help end the militarization of children by 2016.

Keep the Federal Government from Cutting Funds for Public Education

Important programs for our children's education are on the chopping block.

Goal:30,000•Progress:3,933

Sponsored by:The Literacy Site

Although most Americans agree that something must be done about the federal budget deficit, it's becoming clear that the federal government is not choosing the right places to cut spending.

While the president continues to throw money into projects that are already well-funded or that serve his purposes better than the nation's, public education and other poorly funded programs are taking huge hits. NBC news reports that Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education, refused to commit to "not privatizing public schools or cutting money from education" during her confirmation hearing, demonstrating that the Trump administration does not value public education [1].

And the proposed 2018 federal budget only drives the point home more harshly.
According to the Center for American Progress, Trump's proposed budget for the coming year would slash the U.S. Department of Education's funding by a whopping 13 percent, or $9 billion. These cuts would "dismantle public schools through massive cuts to teacher training, after-school programs in public schools" [2].

More specifically, the plan would take $2.4 billion from teacher training grants, and $1.2 billion from summer-school and after-school programs. The Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) for low-income undergraduates would be completely eliminated, and other programs that serve struggling students, such as TRIO, and GEAR UP, would be significantly reduced [3].

But the possibilities extend even further than that. According to The Hill, House Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky also proposed legislation that would eliminate the Department of Education altogether, making "policymakers at the state and local levels [...] responsible for education policy, instead of a federal agency." [4].

The new budget would invest $1.4 billion in private school vouchers and other projects in the privatization vein [2]. This move sends the signal that, "under the Trump administration, federal aid is out and school choice is in" [3].

The public education system has been starved long enough. It is time for the American people to stand up and tell the government to support public education so that all people can have access to the resources they need to thrive.

Sign the petition to tell President Trump, the Office of Management and Budget, and the House and Senate Committees On The Budget that America will not stand for an administration that devalues and defunds public education.

Sign Here

Dear President Trump, the Office of Management and Budget, and the House and Senate Committees On The Budget,

America values public education. Every child deserves a quality education, and all families should be able to send their children to a good school, regardless of their financial status.

Cutting funding for summer-school and after-school programs, teacher-training programs, and more is a deplorable move. The proposed 2018 budget would harm low-income students, those with disabilities, and other vulnerable people of our nation, who are perhaps the most deserving of federal funds.

Public education is not funded well enough now, and it doesn't deserve to lose more money. We will not stand for your plan to redirect $9 billion away from the Department of Education and public school programs. It is not okay for education to be privatized so that only certain privileged individuals have access to these valuable resources.

We demand that you stop trying to force these massive cuts to the Department of Education. Leave public school programs in place to continue to do the fantastic work they've been doing for years.

Sincerely,

Petition Signatures

May 23, 2018Yvonne Fourgous

May 23, 2018Aliyah Khan

May 22, 2018Dana Lloyd

May 21, 2018Barry Katz

May 18, 2018Kathryn Lewis Parmentier

May 18, 2018(Name not displayed)

May 16, 2018Lorraine Costea

May 15, 2018Ashley Waller

May 14, 2018Susan Fisher

May 14, 2018David Pascoe

May 14, 2018Anne Havard

May 14, 2018Andrea Bertram

May 14, 2018shelley Smith

May 7, 2018Leah Helmer

May 6, 2018Rita Camaño

May 4, 2018Jeri Jones

May 4, 2018suzanne caruso

May 4, 2018ANGELA WATSON

May 4, 2018Timothy Lippert

May 4, 2018(Name not displayed)

May 4, 2018Gillian Shults

May 4, 2018Lynne Minore

May 4, 2018Dan and Paula Fogarty

May 4, 2018Carol Doud

May 4, 2018L Dufresne

May 3, 2018Lane Page

May 3, 2018Dianne Brekhus

May 3, 2018Rob Dexter

May 2, 2018Juli Kring

May 1, 2018Sheila Spencer-StoverA good education , ability to think, act --is the tool each/every child/person needs, has the right to. Keeping people ignorant is what leads anger/frustration/depression---on to to war/control by the wrong people, cults,

Apr 29, 2018Laurie Nicoletti

Apr 26, 2018Gil Hackel

Apr 25, 2018Marcus Payne

Apr 25, 2018cindy jefferys

Apr 25, 2018Vickie Mowry

Apr 25, 2018Henryetta Kidd

Apr 25, 2018Rebecca Jacobs-Pollez

Apr 25, 2018Christine Maidl

Apr 25, 2018(Name not displayed)

Apr 25, 2018Alicja Bożek

Apr 25, 2018(Name not displayed)

Apr 25, 2018(Name not displayed)Trump and DeVos are both awful.

Apr 25, 2018Anselmo Tadeo

Apr 25, 2018Norma Molina

Apr 25, 2018Sarah Scheutzow

Apr 25, 2018Terri Tadeo

Apr 25, 2018Lucy-Nadya SPublic education is vital.

Apr 25, 2018Cassandra Weldon-FaulknerOur children are our future; reducing access to education is inappropriate. Public schools and their programs are important; charter schools (that do not have to meet the same levels of teacher education/qualification) are eroding our education system.

Apr 25, 2018(Name not displayed)

Apr 25, 2018Lillian BeachI am appalled that after megatax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, you're trying to balance the budget on the backs of CHILDREN, especially the most vulnerable of children. If you want to see a massive crime wave in 10 years, cut these programs!